Who Am I?
by Falling Through Time
Summary: Doctor Who from the eyes of an added character. A woman who can't seem to remember who she is and has lived a thousand lives trying to find the answer.
1. Stranger Than Strange

It was another stormy night outside and lightning flashed through the graying clouds. A woman uneasily watched it strike through the sky before she tore her eyes away from her window and back to the words in her book. She walked through her dark and empty house as she bit at her nails, her intrigue completely peaked, when another crack of lightning sounded across the sky and rang in her ears much louder than it had previous times before. The unexpected volume startled her and she jumped from it.

She decided that with Mother Nature raging angrily outside, she would most likely not get to read in peace. She sighed annoyed, and retreated to her bedroom. There, she crawled under her covers and let her soft brown eyes stare into the ceiling above her thoughtfully before she shook her thoughts away and laid her latest book down on a small stack of other books resting on her bedside table. She gently tugged the power cord down and turned out her evening lamp before turning over onto her side and closing her eyes.

She was easily taken by the realm of sleep and quickly her breathing was that even paced song of one who dreamed. As she slept the thunder pounded and the lightning danced across the midnight sky, and her lamp peculiarly flickered off and on through the night.

She awoke the next morning as usual, slowly and alone. She blinked her eyes a bit as she stared at her ceiling above her. She laid there like that, seemingly in thought, and listened to the silence in her house and the morning birds chirping outside before she finally decided to begin her day.

She threw her covers aside and slid out of bed. Her hand grabbed for the book atop the stack at her bedside table as she left her bedroom. She let out a yawn as she thudded lightly downstairs to her kitchen. Her bare feet touched the familiar cold tile floor as she stumbled across it towards her cupboards, mindlessly preparing herself the ritualistic breakfast of cold cereal and juice. Feeling more awake, she picked up where she left off in her newest book while she enjoyed the sweet crunch of Tony the Tiger's Frosted Flakes.

Yes, it was just another typical morning for her as she read away and enjoyed her breakfast just as she always had, in silence and solitude. Until something different happened.

A ring at her door interrupted her as it vibrated through the walls all the way to her ears. She looked up from her book in the direction of her front door, surprise in her face. She hadn't been expecting anybody or any mail; she wondered who could be at her door so early this morning.

Her bell rang once more, proving she hadn't imagined it. She released her spoon from her hold letting it sink in her bowl and went to answer. She walked down the hall and could hear the hushed mumbles of arguing the whole way. Whoever they were continued to argue until the moment she opened her old wooden door and stared at them questioningly. The two of them turned to her with bright smiles stretching out their skin.

"Hello there, good morning," His English accent rang out through the cold morning air.

"We had some complaints about the electricity on this block and we think the problem resides here. I'm the electrician, and this is my assistant." He shoved a wallet type of material in her face and threw a nod towards his dark skinned companion.

"We'll just take a look and be out of your hair as soon as you can say — " He began to enter the house when she suddenly stood in his way, cutting him off from his fast talk.

"Um, no you're not?" she said bleakly.

"Excuse me?" he asked. He seemed confused.

"You're not the electrician." She clarified.

"Well of course I am, can't you read?" he asked as he glanced at his means of ID and shoved it back in her face.

She patiently, but all the same annoyed, pushed his hand away. Slowly she raised her book that she still held in her hand as if in obvious response.

"Yes, I can read fine. The paper is blank."

At that he seemed genuinely shocked, as well as the woman beside him.

"Well that's not right." He stared at the paper himself as she began to close her door.

"Wait!" his companion had leapt for the door and pleaded for her to listen.

"We need to get in there, you might be in great danger!" she explained.

"I think I can handle it on my own, thanks though." She smiled an obviously non-genuine smile of gratitude before she shut her door and locked it solid.

As soon as her door had closed the people outside began to bicker. She could hear their muffled argument even through the solid wood of her door. She shook her head finding them strange and briskly stalked back down her hallway to finish her breakfast.

Her morning continued on as it normally did afterwards. She returned upstairs to change for work. She found her light bulbs had died out again, much to her annoyance. She'd only just bought new ones earlier in the week.

She dressed herself without the help of man made light and headed off to work. She walked to her destination without a single moment of unusual difference than the other times she had. Her day carried on with its normal attributes of chatter and laughter before dusk had begun to settle and it was time to punch out and head back home.

"Good night Lawrence." She sung as she passed the security guard on her way out.

"Good night, love." He flirted back with his regular response at which she only smiled and rolled her eyes.

Her steps were swift and light as her heel clunked against the sidewalk beneath. She hunched her shoulders a bit more against the cold of the night as her breath became visible before her as she huffed. She dug her hands into her long black coat's pockets as she crossed the street towards her short cut home through an alley way.

It was usually well lit from beginning to end which is why she had no problems walking through it before, but as she passed under the street lamps tonight they began to falter.

They buzzed and flickered on and off strangely, slowly at first. She looked up at the fickle light as it blinked but kept steadily on through the alley. As she brought her head back down another began to flicker as well. She walked faster, and another blinked out. Soon they all flashed off, one after the other as she passed. She broke into a quick step as she tried to reach the other end of the alley before the lights went out above her. Faster and faster she walked but the lights followed, blinking out only seconds behind her. It didn't stop even once she'd reached the end.

Fully frightened now, she ran home and the lights ran after her. She fumbled with her key at her steps and carefully eyed the seizing lights around her before her door finally opened. She dashed inside and closed the door behind her. She slid her back against it and tried to catch her breath in the darkness of her own home.

Strange things seemed to be happening more and more to her. The lights were one thing that had been happening, but never out of her own home. She was beginning to feel a sort of paranoia she'd never felt before, as if there were something watching her that wasn't there.

Nothing she did sent the feeling away. All she could do was act like she didn't feel any different and carry on with life as normal as she continued to read and to read whatever she could find that described the things she'd been feeling and told of ways to rid herself from demons and spirits and whatever it was that seemed to be following her.

But this was different. Nothing she did changed anything. Nothing she read mentioned what she felt now. Whatever was there with her was only seeming to become stronger.

A flash of silent lightning shone through the designed glass window of her door and stretched across her long hallway floor. Another storm was starting tonight. They occurred more and more in the past recent months. The thought of more inconsistent light and thunder drained her. She sighed and trudged her way up stairs to find refuge in her sleep.

She groaned with fatigue as she reached her room entryway. She tried the switch to the lights; completely busted. She sighed again in annoyance as she walked over to her bed and sat at the edge to remove the murdering shoes from her feet. Once freed, she stood once more to remove her coat and place it back on its hanger. She slid open her closet door when a crack of lightning shattered through the sky and through her bedroom window, allowing just enough sight to see two pairs of wide eyes staring into hers.

She screamed, and the eyes seemed to scream with her!

"Sorry, sorry! Shhh!" A familiar voice tried to hush her and she backed away as it's owner stepped forward.

"We just really needed to get in here, and he's not very good at explaining things,"

"You two." She interrupted the woman. They were both in the grace of the bedroom now and she could see them clearly despite the darkness of the room.

"The weird couple from this morning!" she calmed her breathing as anger began to replace her fear.

"We're not a couple." He interjected.

She stared at him with wide eyes, "I don't care. It doesn't matter, cause I'll tell you what you are, you're in my house!" she raged.

"Oh, yes, so we are." He looked around, "It's quite lovely, did you decorate yourself? I love all the book stuff."

"Compliments won't help you." She spoke dangerously, her arms hanging stiffly at her sides and her hands tightly clenched into fists.

"I'm sorry, did you want us to leave?"

"Yes."

"Oh.."

"Can you get on with it?"

"No."

"What?"

Her jaw hung open in bafflement. The audacity of the skinny man that stood before her in _her _house in _her_ bedroom, and tell her he refused to go? The audacity!

"Well it's kind of storming out there isn't it? Not really good traveling weather." His face contorted as he picked up one of the books from her nightstand and read the title as best he could in the dark. She however, had just about enough foolishness.

"That's it, I want you both out of my house, I'm calling the cops." She swiftly walked around her bed to the other nightstand where her phone sat.

"Well that won't do any good." He said as he turned his attention to other knick knacks that occupied her dresser top. "That phone's not working." He picked up a glass sphere and eyed it.

She picked up the receiver but heard no dial tone, "Great, just wonderful!" angrily, she slammed it down and stared at the two strangers in her bedroom. She began to feel somewhat uneasy.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"How'd you turn off the phone?"

"I didn't, the power went out."

"Yeah that happens all the time, but the phone lines never did."

"It means they've been getting stronger."

"What have?"

"The things that have been following you, the things you've been looking for in books, trying to learn about; trying to find out how to fight them."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said evenly as she swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. It tasted much like her own stomach.

"Of course you do! You've got every book in here lining the walls in your house filled with all the information mankind has documented on all forms of life!"

"I like to read. Information is power."

"You said you'd call the cops."

"Yeah, but the phone doesn't work."

"Not the point, the point was you said 'cops' not that you'd call the 'police'. That's more of an American term, 'cops'. You're not from here, so what are you doing here? Where did you come from and why'd you leave?" he eyed her suspiciously.

"So what, I'm American. Lots of Americans live here in England."

"Yeah but you're not living here, you're hiding here, but hiding from what? What are you running from, what's chasing you, and more importantly why _you_?"

For a brief moment his stare was over powering her. It was as if he saw right into her and suddenly knew every inch of her, every inch of her mind. It was like there was no where she could go that would hide her from his all knowing gaze.

"What's so special about you?" he drawled out as another flash of lightning lit the sky.

"Nothing about me is special." She answered, regaining some control over herself, not allowing him to read any more of her.

He turned away from her. "I can't help you unless I know what's troubling you, so until you tell me anything you know about whatever won't leave you alone, I can't do a thing."

"And who are you? Who are you who holds this vast knowledge of things that none of the worlds oldest and newest books hold within their pages? Just who are you exactly that I should so easily trust with all my most intimate memories?" she asked laying on thick tones of dramatized sarcasm.

"Ah! We haven't introduced ourselves, apologies, I'm The Doctor and that's," he looked over to the woman.

"I'm Martha." She gave a short wave.

"Nice to meet you Martha," she smiled to the woman " and I'm sorry, what was you're name, again?" she leaned out, cupping a hand behind her ear.

"I'm The Doctor."

"Yes, I thought that's what you said." She gave the smallest of a chuckle. "But, that's not a name."

"Well it's an alias, that's good enough isn't it?"

"Oh yeah, my fault, you're right. I will gladly tell a complete stranger that _broke_ into my house, _hid_ in my closet, and cut off my _phone_ everything about myself when he won't even give me his name!"

"I didn't touch your phone and it's just a name, who cares?!"

"I care! What's so bad about wanting to know your name?"

"Why do you want to know so badly?!" he raised his voice as he began to get annoyed.

"Because I just do." She replied innocently, taken aback by his sudden temper.

"What's so important about names?!" he yelled again, louder and more furious.

"Everything!" she yelled back.

This time her voice had been filled with more anger than his was, and it died off with a tinge of hurt hanging off the end. A hurt that had been etched there longer than she could remember.

He stared at her, his startled eyes betrayed him and showed everyone in the room that her tone had affected him. He quickly recalled his emotions and sent a glance towards Martha before he began to back out of the room.

"If you won't help me I'll just have to figure it out myself." He said before turning and leaving the two women alone in the dark.

Suddenly she felt some regret for the way she had handled everything. What if he really could have helped her? There was no way he'd help her now. He could have been her only hope, and she'd gone and yelled at him.

She let out an exasperated sigh as she sat at the edge of her bed. Martha stood awkwardly a few feet away. She was obviously trying to figure out a way to start a conversation.

"Look, I know he can be difficult," she hesitated at the noun she'd chosen as she sat next to the woman on her bed "but The Doctor's really this amazing person. He's quite possibly the most amazing man I've ever met. I've seen him do amazing things, really amazing things. Things, you wouldn't believe if I told you. I've gone traveling with him and I've gotten to witness all the wonderful things he's done." Her eyes were desperate, dreamy, admiring. Anyone could see the affection that glowed through her.

"And he could help you too. He could help you, if you trust him."

There was a hesitant moment of silence between them before she turned to face Martha.

"You've seen him?"

"Yes, I have." Martha smiled.

"You've seen him do all these amazing things, and you've seen him help people over and over? You're there with him to see all these things?"

"Yes." She nodded and smiled again.

"Then tell me, do you know his name? I'm not asking you to tell me it if you do, I'm just asking if he has entrusted you with his name?"

Her smile faded and she looked down shamefully. "No. He hasn't."

"He hasn't." she repeated. "So you've gone all over the world, traveling with this man, and you don't even know his name?"

Martha didn't even answer. She only looked away, feeling a bit thoughtful.

"How am I supposed to trust a complete stranger that broke into my house, when he hasn't even trusted his own friends with his name?" she shook her head as she stood from the bed and left Martha there to ponder about her own decisions.

She fumbled around with some drawers until she found what she was looking for. She carried the crinkled brown paper bag through the room. She handed one of the items from the bag to Martha on her way out.

She walked downstairs to her kitchen. She hadn't been expecting to see him still there, reading more of her books that lay about all around her home. She casually walked over to one of her cabinets and reached for a box of matches.

"You still around?" she asked as her fingers felt around the shelves.

"Well I can't just leave. All the signs I followed led me here and this is where they stop. I've no where else to go from here." He answered to the air around him, refusing to make eye contact with her. She found what she searched for and took them in her grasp. She eyed the back of him cautiously before walking over to face him. He looked up and met her gaze.

"What kind of signs?" she asked.

He closed the book he held and placed it behind him on the high standing table he leaned against before he took a single step towards her. He leaned in, closer to her, and he softly spoke his response.

" 'Danger' Signs."

She let the uneasiness that crawled across her back settle into the air before she responded. She thought about and chose her words carefully.

"Tell me 'Doctor', are you used to being a beacon of light to most people? Used to being the face of trust for those that stumble onto your path, lost and afraid?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

She frowned.

"Well, I am not another one of your sheep for you to shepherd."

She forcefully thrust another item from her bag into his hand without breaking eye contact before strutting off into her living room.

He watched her leave before looking down into his hand. In his grip was a single candle, unused. Just then Martha had reached the base of the stairs and stepped into the kitchen with her candle in hand. They looked to each other before The Doctor followed the woman into the living room, and Martha was only steps behind him.

"You don't know what you're trifling with."

"Yeah, but neither do you." She said as she continued to fiddle with what ever it was she was doing.

"Not yet, but I will. And I already know that whatever it is, it's most likely a much bigger threat than you think."

"And that's supposed to change things, how?"

"It changes things because the whole world could be at stake, in danger. It could all be lost, all because one stubborn woman wouldn't cooperate with the only man that could stop it!"

She stood up but kept her back to them. She bit at her lip in thought.

"All right! All right… I'll tell you what I can."

They all stood there, still as statues, until she struck the match she held between her fingers against the box. She threw it into the fireplace and the logs that sat in it burst into flame. It lit up the whole room exuberantly for a few seconds before dying down to an even burning fire. She turned around to face them in the newly lit room, the glow and heat from the fire bouncing around behind her.

"Light your candles. They don't like light."


	2. They're Coming

"How do you know they don't like the light?" Martha asked as she sat on one of the chairs in the living room, her lit candle in hand.

"Because it always happens at night when the lights are on. That's when they mess with them, turn them off." She answered as she sat across from Martha with her own burning candle.

"Cut the power you mean?" The Doctor asked from where he stood near the fireplace.

"Yes, but just the lights. I can still use all my appliances, and the phones usually still work. This is the first time they don't." she looked up to him with somewhat apologetic eyes before continuing on.

"This is also the first time anything like this has happened outside of here." She remembered.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"They cut out the street lights on my way home tonight. That's never happened before; they've never done anything out in the public, or in the presence of other people in my home."

"Tonight seems to be the night for a lot of firsts then huh?" Martha looked down in thought.

"You keep saying 'They', what makes you think it's a 'they' and not an 'it'?" he asked suddenly.

"It's… just something I can feel…" she said slowly. When they both looked at her expectantly she tried explaining better.

"When I was a little girl, back in America, I felt like something was looking at me sometimes. I felt like that a lot of the times actually, but one time it was different. It felt like it was looking at me from all over. And then I didn't feel it anymore. Years later I felt like that again, but I was older and the feeling was stronger. It felt more like a bunch of things were watching me all at once. And then again, it was gone. But I was older then, so I figured it had never really been gone. It was always there. It just covered up its leak." She was quiet for a bit, her mind lost to memories.

"Then I came here." She smiled, snapping back to the present.

"Yeah, how far could you go? Surely it wouldn't follow you all the way across the pond."

"No, that's not why I left." she frowned. "I actually came here for more practical and personal reasons." She said, clearly unhappy about his accusation.

"Practical?" he laughed.

"Better job."

"Personal?" he sneered.

"I like England. Always wanted to see it. Ended up staying!" she shrugged but smiled all the same.

"What else do you know?" Martha asked, bringing back the focus.

"It stops in the morning, as soon as it's day, all bright and sunny. Afraid of the sunlight, like I said. That's where I got the idea for the candles, and it worked. Whatever they are they don't touch the fire." She nodded to the fireplace.

"Have you got a telly?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's on the wall in the kitchen."

"In the kitchen? That's a strange place to watch television." He called as he strode over to the kitchen.

"Well I think this is a strange time to watch cartoons." She huffed. "I like to watch the shows while I cook. Besides, this is my reading room." She called.

"So, we've got that they don't like light, they cut off power, and there's a lot of them." Martha listed off the information they'd gained.

"And they like you. Where's the remote?" The Doctor added his observation from the kitchen.

"In the drawer under the T.V." she yelled back, "but what do you mean they like me?" she got up from her seat and headed for the kitchen, Martha following.

"You said yourself they don't act up around company, only when you're by yourself." He said as he dug around in the drawer before turning to face them.

"So why do they only mess with you? Are they more comfortable around you? Are they shy? Or are you just more fun to terrorize than others?" he grinned, cheekily, before turning back to the T.V. and aiming the remote at it.

Her lips set in a tight frown while Martha pondered over this puzzle more.

"Maybe there's something different about you that you don't even know about." She said.

"That's the right kind of thinking Martha! So what is it?" he praised.

"Let's see, Umm, how old are you?" she asked.

"I'm twenty-eight."

"Are you sick or anything? Any kind of disease in your family history?"

"No, not so much more than the common cold."

"You're sure?" Martha asked again, hoping there would be something she could go off from.

"Positive. All my ancestors have been said to grow well into old age."

"All right, so maybe it's got to do with what you eat or touch?" Martha continued her quizzing while The Doctor tried again with the remote.

"This isn't working." He mumbled.

"The power's out, remember?"

"Yeah but even the remote isn't working. The remote's not plugged in to anything."

"Maybe the batteries are dead."

"Got any new ones?"

"That drawer over there." She pointed to another drawer below the cabinet she kept her matches.

"What's your diet like, and your daily routine?" Martha continued on.

"Not much really. I have cereal in the mornings, salads at lunch usually. Sometimes I don't even eat dinner. I get up, go to work, come home, take a shower, go to bed. I wake up the next morning and do it all over again."

"Well I can't say it's unusual, but it's definitely not too healthy." Martha scolded, her profession shining through.

"I get swept up sometimes in my research, for my work." She replied.

"What do you do?" Martha asked.

"Nothing I would consider dangerous. I hardly come across radiation around pencils and paper and coffee." She laughed.

"These don't work either." The Doctor said as he slid the opened packs of batteries across the table top.

"That can't be possible, I just bought those, absolutely brand new." She said, furiously picking up a pack and trying to find the expiration date.

"You said you do research. Research for what?" he asked.

"For my job."

"That's not what I meant, what do you research?"

"Anything and everything." She shrugged, "I'm a columnist. I work for a magazine and for the London Times newspaper. I read and find things that I think people will find interesting, write a bit of a witty innuendo that I come to after learning of the something 'interesting' I find, and then it gets edited and published."

"That's why you said 'Information is power'." Martha said, proud of her realization.

The Doctor grinned and nodded in agreement of the connection before he stopped suddenly, his mind whizzing about, coming to his own realization.

"That's it!" He yelled throwing his arms out. "Martha, you're absolutely brilliant!"

He dug around in his coat's inner chest pocket before he pulled out some strange looking pen sort of a thing.

"What's it?" Martha asked.

"What's that?" the brunette asked, pointing to the weird instrument he whirled about.

"It's a screw driver." He said before turning his head to Martha, "What you said, 'Information is power'."

"I don't get it."

"_That's_ a screw driver?"

"Sonic, screw driver." He scowled before again turning to Martha, " 'Information is power', it's the _power_! Not the lights, the power!" he turned about and started pointing his gadget at everything in the room.

"They manipulate the power. Everything with an electrical power source is turned off, but not the gas," he flicked the wand over to the stove and the burners turned on, "or the plumbing," he turned it to the sink and the water flowed, "just the power. We kept staying locked on to the lights because that's what we can see, but when you take into account the phones, the T.V., the fridge, even the batteries, you can see that all the power has been sucked out; devoured."

"It whirs?" she asked, staring at the wand.

"Yeah, it's sonic. But by what Doctor? What's 'eating' the power?" Martha asked, ignoring the woman's shock.

"Vigorvorous! A tiny little organism that lives off energy. Billions of them! Floating in the air right now."

"You mean like, little nano-aliens?" Martha asked, looking at the air.

"Even smaller! The size of cells, molecules, atoms! Maybe even smaller than that. They're from a planet in the sub division of Lunaria, a lunar system with fifty moons. There they surf about and ingest excess energy that gets bottled up in the atmosphere, with no sun to burn it all up. They're greedy little things though, so they usually stay there where energy is abundant. If they come into contact with other solar systems they usually devour the planets whole."

"Aliens? You're saying that we're surrounded by aliens, right now?" She asked.

"That's right."

"But, 'Vigorvorous', that's Latin?"

"Yes it is. The Latins are the ones who discovered and named the species."

"Latins discovered an alien species? How is that even possible?"

"The Universe gots lots of Latins." He argued. She only shook her head, leaving that for an explanation at another time.

"So aliens, are real? And you've met one?"

"Yes they are, yes I have, and now you've met one too."

"Well, I can hardly say I've met these invisible aliens." she laughed.

"Hello, I'm The Doctor. Pleasure to meet you."

Her eyes widened, and she raised a brow at his stupidly grinning face.

"But Doctor, if that's true, why haven't they devoured this planet?" Martha broke in with the serious question at hand.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. But we've got bigger problems to solve right now! We've got a house packed with energy eaters and I just landed the most potent energy source ever created in the kitchen." He leaned against the tall blue box in the room.

"When the hell did that get in here!"

"I landed it here while you were out at work, try to keep up, the question is how do we get it out?"

"Can't we just warp it out of here?" Martha asked.

"No, no, as soon as we open the doors they'll rush in and eat it all up. All that energy is never meant to be absorbed. They'll overflow and burn alive before expanding across the galaxy blowing it all up into smoke and smithereens. As long as the doors stay closed we should be fine, but we can't move the TARDIS until we first move the clan."

"Move the what?"

"The TARDIS, really try to keep up. Now if I wanted to lure away unwanted hungry visitors, how would I do that?" he asked.

"I would take them to eat out?" Martha suggested.

"Good! Now, where is a place that could supply a tempting enough dinner?"

"London's energy plant?" That was the first thing to come to Martha's mind.

"No, too far and too much energy. They'd suck it dry in seconds, leaving London without power for months. We need some where close, and with energy we can control."

An idea struck and she slowly spoke her mind.

"What about my work?" They looked at her. "It's not far, three, maybe four streets away. My short cut makes even faster travel. It's one of the tallest buildings in London. If we turn everything on won't it look like a giant 'free meal' sign?"

"That might work, let's give it a try!"

It was smiles all around as the three of them headed for the door. She led The Doctor and Martha through the pitch black alley way and around the corners all the way back to the building she returned to every morning. And there stood the detail she'd forgotten.

"Shoot, I forgot about Lawrence." She whispered from behind the corner they hid from.

"No worries! I've got this!" he smugly flapped around the wallet from before.

"What are you gonna do with that? Flash him a blank piece of paper and then smack him with it?" she couldn't help but giggle at the idea. "He'd definitely be more than happy to taze you right then and there." He seemed deflated by her and Martha's snickering.

"It's not usually blank." He defended with a frown.

"Just let me handle it." She ordered as she stepped away from the corner and beckoned them to follow.

"Lawrence!" she called as she stepped up to him.

"Hello, love!" he answered back with a goofy grin on his face when he saw it was her.

His grin soon changed to confusion, "What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you again so soon, is it Seven O'clock already?" he joked checking his wrist watch.

"No, it isn't morning quite yet, thank God!" she placed a dramatic hand over her heart, as if to calm it's beating.

"See, I was out with my mates," she gave a general wave over to Martha and The Doctor who stood behind her, "having a drink, when I remembered the file! I left the bloody file in my office! The one I need to have edited and emailed to Margie by morning. Ran over here as fast as I could, the lot followed me to make sure I was safe, hoping that you would let me in real quick to grab it?" she clasped her hands together in prayer that he would help her.

"I don't know… It's well after hours—"

"Oh please Lawrence? I could lose my job if I don't turn in that paper. Then I'd never see you in the mornings again." She pouted and batted her eyes a bit.

His knees weakened, "Oh all right."

"Yes! Thank you, so much!" she giggled, and he laughed shyly as well.

He led them to the top of the steps and pulled out his master key. He twisted it and pulled forth the door, holding it open for her as she passed through. The two began to follow when he stopped them.

"But, they'll have to wait outside."

"Oh please let them come with me? It's a bit freaky being in this empty building all alone."

He shifted uncomfortably.

"It's not a bank, Lawrence. What are we gonna steal, pens?" she guffed.

"Fine, but be quick about it." He gave in.

"Thank you Lawrence!" she sung as she hugged him gratefully.

They swiftly and silently passed him as they entered the dark building.

"I do like a good pen." The Doctor remarked once they were out of ear shot.

Smiles curled on all their lips as they tried to hold back laughter.

"So where to?" Martha asked.

"The roof. That's where power boxes usually are." He replied as he headed for the elevators.

"So, you're an alien?" she asked as they waited for the elevator.

"Yup."

"And you?"

"Not me. Human, like you." Martha shrugged.

"Okay. And the Vigorvorous are aliens?"

"Yup." He answered again as he stepped into the now open elevator.

"Aliens that eat energy and live in a lunar system?" she said as she stepped in as well alongside Martha.

"Yup."

"Why don't they eat the fire? Fire's a form of energy. Everything's really a form of energy. There's energy in all cells."

"Too primitive, the more modern the better. It's a stronger source of energy, of power; a tastier snack."

"Well how much power can there be in a lunar system?"

"You'd be surprised how far artificial heating and lighting has come. But it takes a lot of energy to keep that all going. You can just imagine the spill overs."

"Radiation?"

"Pah! Radiation? Please, radiation's only a toy out there." He shook his head as he exited the lift, leaving her blinking helplessly in a mind-lost manner, following slowly behind.

He burst from the door to the roof and gave a glimpse around.

"Now what?" Martha asked from beside him.

"We light 'em up like it's Christmas!" he exclaimed, grinning away.

He moved over to the circuits and pointed his screw driver at the lock. It zapped and then unlocked, a bit of smoke flowing from it. The Doctor removed it and opened the doors. Wires and switches upon wires and switches covered the wall. He flicked them all on and pushed the breakers all the way to their limits. One by one the floors of the building lit up, from top to bottom.

"It's working!" Martha called from the edge where she looked over.

"Yeah, but it's not enough." He said more to himself than anyone there.

"So what do we do?" Martha asked as she came to stand beside him.

"I'll just give it a tweak!" he stood back and raised his screw driver to the circuit box once more. Its frequency sounded again and rose to higher and higher pitches before a large flash of electricity popped and fizzled.

The building below them glowed impossibly bright and they all smiled like lunatics at the success.

"Right then, keep pointing this at it and the lights should keep burning bright." He said handing the screw driver over to Martha.

"I'll go and move the TARDIS, then come back up here to help you turn it all off." He ran towards the stairs door.

"Wait, how will you know they've all gone? You can't see 'em and you won't even have your screw driver." Martha brought up a very good question and he stood there, unhappily baffled.

"I can tell you. I feel it when they're around me." She spoke up.

"Alright, good enough for me." Martha dug in her jacket pocket and tossed her phone to The Doctor.

"I'll call you from her phone and give you the all clear." Martha nodded.

He smiled and ran off with the cell phone in hand. She pulled out her phone and handed it to Martha. Then she stood by and waited to feel some change in the air.

"Fancy." Martha sung as she held the phone.

"It's the company's phone."

"Lucky."

"Well I won't be for much longer. I'm sure they'll probably want it back after this." She grimaced at the thought of her criminal face in all of the security camera footage.

Down below she spotted a person running with a long coat flowing out behind them.

"Well isn't he a fast runner. He must run every day?"

"Yeah, we do an awful lot of running." Martha laughed nervously.

She shook her head not understanding the humor before turning back to the streets below. Then she saw something, something down on the ground. The street lights, they were flickering ever so lightly. It was only a few, so she kept her eyes focused on them and waited. Soon a few more were dancing to an unsteady tune, and quickly the beat grew stronger, wilder. She watched as the lights turned off and on and grew like a wave ready to crash on top of them. They swished left and right like a snake as it slithered towards them.

"They're coming."


	3. Miss Nurse

"They're coming." She whispered.

Martha quickly dialed her number.

"I'm almost there!" he said into the phone.

"They're on their way." Martha informed him.

He smiled and ran faster.

She could feel them, rushing towards her, ready to engulf everything around her. They didn't hide their presence from her any more. She could feel each and every one of them, pressing heavily on her shoulders, racing across her back. They were all there, all of them pressing down on her, willing her to weakness. She felt tired, exhausted. That was always the effect they gave, but it was so much more powerful now. It was as if they were sucking the life right out of her.

"They're all here."

What had been seconds for her had been ten minutes time, and Martha quickly informed The Doctor. Quickly he entered the house and rushed to the kitchen. He stood before the big, wonderful blue box for only a moment before thrashing open her door.

Nothing happened.

He laughed triumphantly and jumped inside, "I'm moving her somewhere safe!" he called into the phone.

Martha hung up with a smile just before Lawrence busted through the door to the roof. He spotted her near the circuits first and trudged over there.

"Whatever it is you're doing, stop right now!" he ordered as he tried to take the strange tool in her hand.

The two of them became tangled in arguing and keep away when another strangely trance-like voice broke in.

"Stop it."

The both of them looked over to the woman who stood still as death.

"Stop it," she repeated "turn it off."

"What's wrong?" Martha asked, pushing Lawrence away and rushing to her side.

"They're… In me."

"Don't touch her." Martha warned as Lawrence went to place a hand on her shoulder.

"They're inside me. They're in my head." Her eyes began to fill with tears and lightning flashed amongst the sky as the whole building flickered like a strobe.

Martha quickly dialed the number for a second time.

"I just parked her where we landed the first time."

"Doctor, something's wrong with her."

He hurried out of his ship and looked up to the sky. Lightning roared and ripped across and thunder pounded through the clouds. He ran through the streets as fast as he could.

"Keep talking to her, I'm on my way." He directed into the phone.

"What are they doing? In your head, what are they doing?" Martha asked.

"They're forcing me, to remember things." She replied as tears began to fall. "Things about me, that I don't know yet." She shut her eyes tightly before she opened them again, a soft glowing tint to them now.

"My memories, they're opening them up. I can remember." She smiled as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks, "But it hurts."

"Try to stop them." Martha couldn't understand her perfectly, but she tried to help her.

"Don't let them control you. Just hold them off until The Doctor gets here."

"It hurts!" she cried as they forced their way through her mind.

She writhed in agony as they ran through her. They released all of her memories, one by one. All of her forgotten past, finally unsheathed. All of the doors to her mind were being opened, and what wait beyond them were so wonderful. All the secrets finally revealed! But it was so painful. It was like all the doors were being ripped off their hinges. All of them being lit on fire and blasted through. They were so strong, she couldn't fight them. They did as they pleased, like her brain was nothing more than a playground for their amusement.

"Doctor, hurry!" Martha yelled into the phone urgently as she became more and more lost to the pain raging within her.

The pain made it impossible to be aware of what was going on around her. She'd long since been lost to Martha's voice. She no longer heard anything but the buzzing that drilled on and on behind every memory. She was in nothing but a world of unbearable pain by the time The Doctor had reached the roof.

"Doctor, what's happened?" Martha asked as she ran over to him.

"They've gone into a frenzy and she's in the middle of it, we need to shut it all off." He held his hand out for his screw driver which Martha quickly returned to him. He sent a few zaps to the power circuits before the fuses cut out and the lights flashed off.

Suddenly she was screaming at the top of her lungs, her hands clutching her head helplessly.

"Doctor, what's wrong!?"

"I don't know! The Vigorvorous need high levels of energy to feast on, they should have dispersed." He quickly scanned the fuse box with his screw driver and when no readings came up he scanned the area around them. The building wasn't producing any more energy, what the hell was going on?

Suddenly his screw driver picked up on something he overlooked.

"She's spewing out energy…" he said aloud.

"What?"

"She's surrounded by so much!" he replied getting more and more worried by the readings he picked up.

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know!" his mind was going at three hundred miles per minute while she screamed. How was it possible?

"MY MEMORIES!"

She screamed in utter pain, more pain than before. They were devouring her. They were eating everything inside, leaving her an empty shell.

"They're eating them! They're eating everything!" she cried and screamed as if she was being tortured slowly and quickly at the same time. It burned her. Everything was burning. Her body was burning.

She began to glow and her skin was sweating as she was heating up. The energy within her concentrated on one centered spot and grew out from there. It stretched out and tried to reach them. It scorched their skin before it even touched them.

"Stay back! If you don't want to lose your limbs, don't touch it." The three of them walked back to a safer distance.

"What's happening to her?!" Lawrence screamed.

"They're forcing her to generate energy." He answered. "But they're losing control. Her energy will stretch out and cross the world, burning everything in its path. Soon there won't be anything left but sand and ash."

"She'll destroy the planet!?" Martha almost couldn't believe it.

"And it gets worse." He frowned, "She'll continue to burn. She'll never stop. She'll turn this rock into another sun. The two suns will collide and the explosion will wipe out the rest of the solar system."

"So how do we stop that from happening?" Martha asked.

"A greater source of power. I need to create a bigger bang far away from here that will cancel out the power that's flowing out of her."

"You mean like a bomb?" Lawrence questioned.

"Exactly like a bomb. We need a huge explosion."

"So what's the problem?" Martha asked.

"The only thing I can think of with an equivalent amount of energy worth blowing up is the TARDIS."

The air changed then in that instant.

"There's got to be another way." Martha tried.

"Not one that we'll get to fast enough." He said what she already knew. "And you know the TARDIS needs a pilot."

"Doctor," she argued, but he cut her off.

"That means you'll be stuck here, you know?"

"It's not that far off. I'll be the same age as Leo now probably." She tried to smile, but her expression was sad.

"I never expected you to say anything less." He said with a true and honest smile.

Martha smiled back and he took off into his last run.

She screamed and screamed as it burned, as they scratched at her, eating everything that was her. She could feel them burn up and dissolve in the air as they ate her. She was too much for them. She was too much for herself. She was so hot, so unbearably hot. Her head hurt so much, every inch of her felt like it was being consumed by fire. There wasn't even any smoke. All she could feel, all she could taste, was pain and fire. It burned in her eyes as she saw everything open to her and be lost again. The images were never ending, like a film, playing into flames.

Somewhere she could hear Martha trying to tell her something, but the pain made it hard to hear. Then suddenly she felt it. She felt the change, the loss. His existence was gone. She could find it no where. A burning, a strong burning happened slowly very far away. She could feel it bursting through space, reaching out to touch Earth. She could feel everything at that moment, everything around her. She felt his death.

"No."

She spoke firmly as she brought herself to stand.

Martha looked down from the explosion in the sky to see her calmly speak in a voice that was strange in her ears.

"I hold the energy of a sun, but it does not have to burn."

The world froze. She felt herself surge with power. A power she knew she would never know again. She closed her eyes and sucked it all back. She absorbed time into her, and the clock turned back. She turned it back to the point he waited for the end high above the Earth. She reached to him, and wrapped him in her energy. She pulled him and his ship back to her. In one single moment, she pulled him to safety and time moved forward once again.

The energy shot out from her. It flew upwards all at once and left her body beaten and bruised. They followed the power and it hit its mark, destroying them all. They evaporated in space, consumed by the fire that was more than fire.

Martha was again looking up and tears fell from her eyes as the explosion spread across the sky. She turned with a gasp as she heard a door be thrown open behind her. There he stood, with the most confused look upon his face.

"But… How?" she asked, her voice still choked up with sobs.

He looked up into the sky.

"I'm still blowing up." He said.

"But, you're right here?" Martha stared like he wasn't real.

"A paradox."

"What?"

"She went back in the same timeline and saved me. Two realities happening at once on the same plane. It created a paradox. She blew up the paradox creating enough of a blast to disintegrate the Vigorvorous."

They looked at each other, unsure thoughts written clearly on their faces, before they turned around to look at her.

She lay unconscious.

"C'mon, let's get her out of here before the police show up." He stepped over to her and threw her over his shoulder.

Martha held open the TARDIS door and waited for him.

"Thanks for letting us up, Lawrence." He said as he passed him.

"W-wait! Will she be alright?" he asked with a stutter.

"Oh yeah, she'll be fine now! Just needs some rest. We'll take her home."

"How do I explain this whole thing?" he fretted.

"Just tell 'em lightning hit the building."

He marched inside the blue police box and Martha closed the door behind him. Suddenly it made a noise that Lawrence could never describe and it faded away before his eyes. He turned on his heel and decided to tell himself he never saw anything there in the first place.

She woke up lying in her bed. She groaned as she began to feel the full extent of her injuries. She tried to sit up, but found she could hardly move. Her body was stiff, as if she had been asleep for days.

"Are you alright? How are you feeling?" Martha was there in an instant at her side.

"I'm fine I think. My head's pounding and I can't move but I think I'm alive." She answered in a hoarse voice.

Martha helped her sit up and headed downstairs to find some aspirin. The Doctor used the time to ask his own questions.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a quiet voice from where he sat in a chair near her bed.

"A bit shaken, perhaps. And you?"

"I suppose I feel a bit shaken as well." He smiled, "Thought I was going to die."

"As did I." she smiled back and they laughed a bit like nutters.

"I lost a bit of my memory." She began, feeling like smiling a bit less. "It's a weird feeling, 'cause I know that I've lost some pieces but I can't for the life of me remember which pieces they were." She put a hand to her head and closed her eyes, trying to look inside herself, trying to remember.

"Well you seem to remember what happened pretty well?"

"It's not the most recent memories that are important. It's the ones you hold closest to your heart."

His usual joking face seemed to take on a shade of serious. Her statement seemed to hit home somewhere. She tried to continue on and move forward from this string of sadness she struck.

"Those are always the more powerful ones, and those are the ones they took off with first. I guess I'll have to fill the empty spots with new ones." She smiled.

He smiled back and a glimmer of sunlight caught his eye as it shined in through the window.

"It's day time now. Looks like it'll be a beautiful one too. The storms you been having out of season shouldn't be occurring anymore either." He stood up and watched the world warm up outside.

"You mean, those were because of the Vigorvorous?"

"Yup! The thunder and lighting were nothing more than extractions of over build-ups of energy during consumption."

"You mean like, belching?" she asked.

"I was going to say more like farts, but yeah, belching too I guess."

"That's kind of gross…" her face contorted to one in disgust.

"Yeah, kind of, but anyway! The sky's all clear now. Perfect weather for traveling." A playful smile lingered on his lips. "Would you like to come with me?"

She sighed helplessly, "I still don't even know your name?"

"Oi, hang on. I'm inviting you and I never even received so much as a surname. So go on then, who are you?"

"It's rude to ask someone for their name before you've given them your own." She crossed her arms.

"You've been asking for my name all night!"

"No, I was only ever trying to make a point about trust!"

"Are you really going to argue this, now?"

She stared sternly from where she sat in her bed.

"A trip of a lifetime and you'd rather miss out because of an argument like this? Because of a name?"

"It's not about the name, Doctor." She sighed and uncrossed her arms. "It's about trust."

She looked into his eyes as she swung her feet off the bed to face him completely.

"I don't even know you. How do I know I can trust you? Because everybody else did?"

His mouth hung open in protest but his voice was lost.

"Can I trust you?"

Her eyes pleaded for something.

He sat there across from her in silence. Their eyes searched inside each others for the answers to their questions.

"No."

He kept her gaze a moment longer after his reply as sadness filled his face. She was clearly shocked but kept her expression blank, and he stood up abruptly and left the room. He found Martha in the kitchen still searching for pain killers.

"Time to go."

"What, now?"

"Yes now."

"But what about—"

"She's fine."

"Doctor,"

He turned to face Martha from where he stood at the door of the TARDIS, parked once again in the kitchen corner.

"Are you sure? Because I think she was bloody brilliant tonight."

"Yeah, but it gets pretty cramped in here just you and me, doesn't it?"

"Doctor, are you feeling alright?" Martha asked.

"I'm fine. She's fine, we're all fine Martha! Now let's get going! The Ion District of Persius has lovely weather this time of year and their parades are fantastic! You won't want to miss it."

"Then let's get going already!" she called from the top of the stairs as she stomped down them.

Martha and The Doctor turned their heads to her voice. Martha smiled as she saw her standing, completely changed, at the base of the stairs with the widest of smiles plastered to her face.

"Well come on then, we want good seats don't we?"

"So you're coming then?" Martha asked excitedly.

"Well of course I am! You think I'd let you two just waltz out of my life forever so easily?"

"Now hold on, who said you could come with us anyhow?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Well I just figured," she stepped towards him slowly "since I've probably lost my job now because of you, and most likely the events of last night will precede me therefore depleting any chances of ever working in England again, thus ruining my life," she came to a halt before him, "that you owe me one." She roughly poked his shoulder.

He eyed her a bit longer while Martha stood nervously fidgeting in the background.

"Well go on then! Don't just stand there, hurry in! Loafers, the lot of you!"

She smiled and Martha just about jumped with joy as the two of them hurried into the TARDIS. She didn't get far in when she realized there was a 'far in'. She stood to the side, stunned and in awe. Martha and The Doctor walked around her and prepared to show off their unique life style.

"Okay! To the fantastic parades of the lovely Persius, Ion District!" he exclaimed.

They jumped around and pulled levers, slapped buttons, spun dials, the works! Lights flashed and noises noised. It was all she could ever imagine a space ship to be.

"It's… Huge! Much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside…"

"Yes, so is the accommodation of the TARDIS, that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Welcome aboard! Miss –, ehm?"

He blanked at the last bit and waited for her to fill it in. She smiled mischievously.

"Nurse! Miss, Nurse."


	4. Parades In Space

"What?"

He gawked in confusion.

"Nurse, my name is Nurse."

"Is that like a last name?"

Martha tried to understand.

"Nope. It's just _Nurse_. Like Cher."

She smiled brightly, quite proud of herself.

"Well that's ridiculous, nobody's actually named _Nurse_, that's not a name?" He protested.

"No, but it's an alias. That's good enough isn't it?"

She practically oozed spite. Giving out a taste of his own medicine felt so good, especially once his expression visually changed to one that was very obviously annoyed.

Martha stood there with her jaw slightly hanging at the pure boldness the woman they picked up presented to the Doctor. She really had to try not to giggle when he stood there with clear shock and annoyance vibrating through out his demeanor. He shifted around and breathed in as he lifted an eyebrow towards the she-devil he decided to bring along.

"Well that's just ridiculous." He mumbled, staring at her a bit longer, the unpleased look unchanging.

"It's never gonna work you know." he said matter-of-factly as he turned away from her as if to ignore her.

"What's not?" she asked faux-innocence drenching her tone.

"Trying to get under my skin. You'll never do it." He answered, still continuing with his tinkering of his strange ship.

"I wouldn't dream!" she continued her game and Martha couldn't help but laugh a little as he became more and more upset.

He sent a warning glance over in her direction and she immediately tried to hide her laughter.

"Keep it up and I'll fly this right into the prehistoric time period and leave you both there." He threatened very unbelievably.

They both took the hint to lay off though and wandered around the Tardis instead. Martha came up to Nurse's side once they were further away from the Doctor.

"So what do you think so far?" she asked eagerly and excited.

"I think it's absolutely crazy." Nurse laughed in wonder. "I've never dreamed this kind of thing could be real. In my lifetime or ever!" she sighed wistfully as she gently touched a pillar of the Tardis.

"It is awesome though isn't it?" Martha smiled.

"Yes! It truly is." She agreed happily.

"You know, I have to admit, it's so wonderful traveling like this with the Doctor and all, seeing all kinds of amazing things. But it does get kind of lonely just him and me. He's so… Alien. Sometimes I forget that, but then he does something that reminds me." Martha's eyes widened at some of her memories of those things before looking back to Nurse with a now calm and honest smile.

"I'm glad you came aboard. I don't feel so alone anymore, like I won't be the only one going through crazy, unimaginable situations all the time and not really having a clue as what to do with myself." She laughed modestly at herself.

"Plus I'll finally have someone to talk to about all this. Someone who will understand." She fidgeted with her hands in a slightly unhappy way.

"Don't you tell anyone?" Nurse asked curiously.

"Tell them what, I ran off with a mad man and a box that travels through space and time?"

"It travels through time?!" she blurted out.

"Didn't you know?"

"No!"

"It's in the name?"

"I thought it meant time _spent_ in space! Not time _and_ space."

She ran her fingers through her slightly frazzled hair as Martha watched her amusingly.

"And his empty threat?"

"I thought it was just that! A joke."

She paused to let this new information settle while Martha waited for her verdict.

"Well that's fantastic! And yeah, probably not the best thing to go around blabbering about." She laughed and Martha laughed with her.

"Yeah, my family would think I'm a nutter and send me in. Maybe I am a nutter, I did jump into a box with a man I'd only just met. Trusting him with my life without knowing the first thing about him." Martha shook her head at herself. "Well I got it from them. Each one of my family's a nutter themselves."

"Aren't all families?" she nudged her jokingly and Martha smiled and nudged back before the Doctor called for them rudely.

"Are you two just gonna giggle and girl chat all day or are you gonna help me fly this thing?"

They sighed and rolled their eyes as they turned to his call and walked over to him.

"Alright, what do you need?" Martha asked in an uncaring tone.

"You, press that button there. And _you_ pull that lever _there_." He pointed to each respectively and the girls took their positions.

"And I'll just do some of this, and hammer some of these!" he called out as he ran about the machine hitting and kicking to what seemed at random to Nurse, until a strange whirring noise heaved through her ears and the center mechanism began to rise and fall.

"Then I spin this!" he continued as he spun a dial as quickly as he could, "And we should be there!" he leapt back with a prideful smile sitting on his face, a hand on his hip as he waited for the girls' reactions eagerly.

Martha and Nurse smiled before running to the door. Martha gave the new girl aboard the courtesy of being the first to see. Slowly she pushed open the door a crack before her jaw slightly fell and her eyes dazzled with wonder. She opened both doors wide as she looked out into space and the comets and asteroids and stars that floated past.

"So what do you think?" he asked with a child-like anticipation for praise.

"I thought we were going to see a parade?" Nurse asked.

"We are."

"Well, where's the streets? And the planet?"

"The planet's over there." He pointed to a yellow-ish dot off in the distance. "Well we're in the Ion District. That's sort of like a space street. Like a highway that connects the four main planets Persius, Igaran, Leema, and Tiltan of the Ion District together in the safest and fastest route. This space highway was named after Persius Ion the First, the first to clear away the asteroids and create the path for easy travel between the planets." He smiled along with his history lesson.

"How many Persius Ion's are there?" Martha asked, curiously.

"By this time? Oh, about… Four hundred and three?" he replied.

"How are we going to see parade floats?" Nurse asked, still unable to grasp the strange nature of things.

"Like this." He said as he stepped to the entrance and pointed out.

She and Martha looked to where he pointed and there far off, Nurse could see little lights flashing from the planets. They were flooding out from the atmospheres and into the space beyond. Their lights grew bigger and brighter as they flashed and danced. Her eyes widened as she realized the flashing lights were the lights of ships.

Giant, decorated ships flying towards them.

"Oh my God…" she whispered as she watched them fly nearer.

"Looks like we got here just on time." He wiggled in self satisfaction.

"I'll go get some blankets and pillows to sit." Martha jumped away, absolutely thrilled.

"So what do you think now?" he asked, turning his head to her.

She closed her gaping jaw and sent him a look.

"You think you're _so_ amazing." She remarked snidely.

"I _am_ so amazing." He replied defensively.

"Tch, you wish." She shook her head and turned back to the spectacular view.

He turned back to it as well before breaking the silence a second time.

"So why'd you change your mind, really?" he asked, his eyes staying glued to the space outside.

She didn't turn to him either, keeping her gaze and smile to the show as she answered.

"Because you were honest."

He couldn't resist giving her a confused glance from the corner of his eyes.

"You told me the truth." She turned to him. "And I can handle that."

She smiled softly while he studied her, trying to see if she was telling the truth.

"Here we go, nice comfy blankets and pillows!" Martha announced as she walked back in with arm fulls of oversized blankets and over stuffed pillows.

She handed some to each of them and they crowded around the doors, laying out their given blankets and sitting comfortably on the floor of the Tardis. They watched the ships, big and small, make the rounds passed each planet through the district in the sweet quiet of space.

"Doctor, why do they parade in the first place?" Martha questioned.

"Because every certain amount of years a time comes around that's one of the most spectacular natural events to come across, and the citizens of the Ion District like to celebrate along with it."

"Along with what?" Martha asked, intrigued.

A shadow passed over them just then that was at least the size of the Titanic.

"With them." The Doctor responded as the three of them raised their heads to the beast above.

A massive creature floated slowly above, its tentacles flowing behind it sparkled and flashed in a majestic sequence of lights and colors. Its single gigantic eye focused on them as it passed by before blinking back to its destination.

Soon there were dozens of equally large and even larger ones like it, hundreds of tiny ones beside them. They swam through the space and around the stars, their songs vibrating in waves that rang across the voids.

It was breathtaking as the numbers grew. One spectacular natural event shared by millions, celebrated by thousands, observed by three.

"Multi-Dimensional Continuum Megoteuthida. Or, Giant Space Squid."

"It's beautiful." She breathed.

They smiled to each other and watched as the ships flew alongside the gentle giants at the slowest of speeds through the clear path of the Ion District. It really was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. The most beautiful she could ever imagine to see. It was true, she could tell the entire world and not one person would believe her. Not even those closest to her. This was definitely something only those that knew the Doctor first hand would understand. She wondered if Martha saw things like this all the time. What a life that could be. Everyday seeing something beyond your dreams? The only life anyone could ever ask for.

"It's magnificent." Martha added after the pause in conversation.

"It really is. And it looks like the family's grown since the last time I visited." He said, child like observation shining in his eyes.

The last time? Was this what the Doctor did? Saw amazing things day after day, for years and years, new experiences for every moment? Living the only life anyone could ask for. Sounded pretty perfect to her.

"Yeah? When was that?" Martha asked with a smile.

"Oh, sometime after I had visited the snow topped mountains of the Gelgorian slopes of Nomatorra with Rose."

"Oh.."

The suddenly memorable and solemn tone of his voice, and the disappointment in Martha's, told her it maybe wasn't as perfect as it seemed after all.

"I love the snow. I think I'd like to see a place like that."

She turned to them with an oblivious and pleading smile, trying to change the subject and change the heavy mood to a lighter one once more.

"Alright, I'll try and think of one that'd be perfect while the show goes on." He said smiling as well.

She nodded, her tactics successful, and turned back to the squids that floated by. A few of them that were tinier than her thumb nail drifted close by, hovering about her with interest before moving on. She giggled at them, charmed by their brave exploration and curiosity.

"So what do you think? Pretty amazing right?" Martha asked noticing her affections for the little aliens.

"Well you were right, you definitely couldn't tell anyone these things. Certainly no one would believe you." Martha nodded while a giant tentacle hovered down slowly to swirl around them.

Nurse gasped as its suction cup covered arm floated about her face. The suctions opened and closed as the giant studied her, its sensory filters deciding if she was friend or foe. It seemed to reach its decision as the suctions closed so the beast could touch her skin without harming her.

Mesmerized, she enjoyed the gentle touch of its ever delicate tendril before it retracted, calling forth the babies that followed it back to the group clumsily.

"Were they hers?" she asked.

"Possibly. She could have been an aunt or a babysitter, or even an older sister from a previous generation."

"How long does it take them to get that big?"

"Oh, hundreds of years! There's not a lot of nutrients in space. Takes a long time to grow."

"It's kind of hard to imagine something that old is just an older sister to something so small and young." She smiled at the heart warming act of nature.

Suddenly the image of a blank faced blur flashed in her mind. It was one of the memories that she hadn't actually lost. It was one of the original ones that had always plagued her and remained locked away in the depths of her mind, unable to be reached by her.

"Am I amazing yet?"

She shook her head and hid her face from him as she looked down to her boots that dangled between his sneakers and Martha's flats.

Maybe the time between this duo would help open some of her locked memories. Then again, if she were tagging along, they were technically a trio now.

She liked the sound to that. She'd been used to being on her own for years now, yes – it was something that happened after every awakening – but it was never something she particularly liked. She just found it hard being social with normal people when she was very not normal herself. Maybe being around other people that were just as strange for different reasons made her feel less of a lost piece to the puzzle of the world.

"Martha is more amazing than you'll ever be." She teased.

"What?" he scoffed, unbelieving of that notion.

"It's amazing that she can put up with that ego for more than an hour!"

The girls laughed and the Doctor clicked his tongue in disapproval. Yes, she thought she might like this new life with friends very much. She felt a truly delighted smile tug at her lips just lightly. A blush warmed her cheeks at the thought of friends and happiness. What a thought that was!


	5. Welcome To Rapor

She woke with a soundless start, eyes wide as they darted through the dark. Slowly she sat upright and her fingers lightly pushed back the crisp cotton sheets that lay perfectly over her. She looked down at the intricate embroidery of the comforter encompassing her and recognized it as her own familiar bed linens.

Slight surprise creased her features and she carefully turned her head about her room to find that it was exactly that. She was in her bedroom, the one in her flat in London, on Earth. She delicately lifted the corners of her coverings and lightly swung her legs out of the warm and stiff remnants of her mattress. Her toes sank into the soft carpet they always sunk into every morning when she woke. She walked around the room unsurely and came to stand before her dresser where she carefully lifted the glass sphere she'd bought from a shop in India when she'd gone reporting on the talents of an anonymous glass blower. She eyed the paper weight skeptically but could find no fault in it that differed from the original and she came to stare at herself in the mirror above the dresser top, as if her reflection could clear her understandings.

A dream. It had all been a dream. That was the answer she had come to when her reflection had failed to give her any other. Sweetly she rested the globe back down and she turned to her bedside table. There her eyes fell upon her lamp and she realized how dark it was in her empty room. Quickly she pulled the cord but no light came to the sound of it's click. The power was out again. She frowned.

She walked around her bed to the other table where her fixed phone was missing. She ignored that note while she kneeled to the bottom drawer below and searched its quarters. She found her usual supply of candles missing as well. Beginning to smell the scent of trouble she stood, her brows knitting together in a bit of worry.

Suddenly she turned to face her window. The only window of the room. She stepped to it and shoved it's curtain aside. A sharp gasp escaped her as her hands came to her mouth and her eyes grew large. She gazed upon the space outside as the comets and dust drifted by.

She swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat before dashing out of the room. Her door had opened to leave her standing in a strange and magical hall. It seemed to twist on forever, rooms and rooms connected to its endless walls. She looked left while her feet began to lead her right instead. She was running, or rather her feet were running for her, seeming to know where they were going, while her eyes dashed about burning everything they saw into her core.

Her feet came to a skipping stop and they stepped backwards into the frame of an open entry way. She stood there at the top of a few steps of stairs. At her presence a pair of eyes looked up while another pair peeked around a pillar. They smiled brightly at her as she focused on everything that surrounded them.

"Rise and shine!" the man greeted her as the woman smiled.

But she ignored them. She ran down the steps and brushed past them straight for the narrow doors she'd spotted at the other end. She roughly pulled them open and stood there bewildered at the sight.

They were there drifting slowly in an orbit of some corner of space. She could clearly see the four planets she thought she'd only dreamed, but the ships and squid were gone.

She remembered now. The show had ended and the migration had passed on, continuing on their long and slow journey through the stars. It had been a steady parade, lasting about half a day before the last of the group was out of the range of sight. And just as swiftly as they had disappeared behind the horizon of her view, the pressing exhaustion that had built up within her weighed down, enormously present to her now that adrenaline had drained itself from her veins.

She remembered how sleep slipped over her uncontrollably as her eyes struggled to stay open, if only just long enough for her mumbled words for bed to tumble out from her vocals. She could just barely remember how someone had seemed to catch her as her body slumped to unconsciousness.

"Everything alright?"

He had slipped behind her, a cautious stance a few feet back.

"Yes. Everything is fine."

She smiled as the words seemed to be as natural as a breath.

"I thought I had dreamed it all."

"Would have been a strange dream." he raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Wouldn't have been the first."

She had smiled a small smile at her inward humor but hadn't noticed his fade at her strange words. Before he could ask what she meant by that, a thought of hers voiced itself out loud.

"I was in my room." she turned to him, a look of question now on her face.

"I was in my bedroom, back in London, but it was on this ship?" she shook her head at her own confusion. She didn't like being confused. She didn't like being unable to understand.

"That's the Tardis." he answered matter of factly.

"The what?" she asked as the word seemed familiar but she couldn't quite match it up with her memory.

"That's the ship." Martha spoke up before the Doctor. "His ship." she corrected herself.

"Right." Nurse mumbled, still not understanding how that answered the question of her room onboard. "Time And Relevant Dimension In Space."

"It gets in your head." Martha clarified with a finger to her own temple.

"It does what?" she asked again, a bit of surprise and discomfort at that.

"First of all, it's 'she' not 'it'. 'She' get's in your head." the Doctor's tone was a protective one but he continued passed his warning. "And yes, she does a bit of mind reading. She established a room for you based on your preference and taste, so you'd feel as comfortable as you can. Apparently, you know exactly how you like things to be and were extremely attached to that room. Soo, she copied it over as best she could for your enjoyment." he ended his explanation on a note of more caution. She could see him waiting for her response to deem if that was what she wanted or if she found it uncomfortable instead.

"Well... I suppose that was kind of, 'her'." she replied at last.

He could see a slight unease still within her eyes, but for the most part she was trying to adjust to her surroundings, not run away from them screaming in fear. He couldn't help but smile at that. That's what he loved about the human race. Well, most of them anyway. But definitely the ones he brought along with him. The ones that didn't go losing their heads as their small realities were suddenly ripped wide open. The ones that accepted that as a new challenge and a new journey into a new unknown world!

He could of gone on forever in his own thoughts but then he saw another question light her eyes.

"How long was I asleep for?"

"Forty-Eight Hours."

"Blimey." she gasped as her eyes widened only slightly.

"That's what I said. And I was going to wake you up sooner but Martha said you needed sleep, and I supposed she was right." he walked away, back onto the platform in the center of the room.

"If I recall, you were already up a full twenty-four running around at work and with us and then another fourteen long hours watching the parade. You were only passed out for a quick moment after your stunt on the roof top. Who knows how much energy that took to pull off in itself." Martha had stated sounding more like the medical student she'd left as. "So I told him to leave you alone until you came around on your own."

"Sorry for such a long wait, then." she replied, feeling a bit shy.

"Oh, don't be! I couldn't even remember when the last time I got a good rest like that was. I slept for most of it myself." Martha smiled down to her from where she was leaning over the railing above on the platform.

She returned the smile back up to her before turning her head back to the open doors of the Tardis. She gave one last glance to the outside before shoving them closed.

"And you Doctor, did you get a good rest as well?" she smiled but he only avoided her eyes a bit.

"Oh, who needs sleep these days? They've got, all kinds of, remedies to keep you up and energized." he trailed off eventually, leaving her to feel a bit confused again while she noticed Martha sulk a bit from the corner of her eye, as if she'd stumbled upon a topic that shouldn't be questioned.

"Right, I suppose they do," she began, "and I suppose they have lots of remedies out there for staving off hunger as well, don't they?" she asked changing the subject easily once more while she clutched at her upper abdomen as it gurgled in demand for attention.

"Oh yes! That there is quite a large option of!" he smiled brightly now, "Food is always in abundance in choices when you have the whole universe to pick from! So what kind of treat were you thinking of?" he asked as his brows twitched upwards and he gnawed on his bottom lip in anticipation.

She smiled and thought for a moment, searching her cravings and trying to understand what it was they craved.

"Something sweet."

"Sweet?"

"I seem to have a sweet tooth."

"Like dessert, or?"

"Anything! Anything sweet! Whether it's a piece of chocolate or a powdered doughnut, or a sweet slice of orange. As long as it's sweet."

Her eyes were suddenly young again as she waited for his answer, and they shined up at him in an absolute show of child-like expectancy. His smile grew upon his face as he laughed out in a mutual enjoyment.

"Sweet it is! And I know just the place!"

He ran around the platform like a child just let out for recess, slapping buttons and gears all along.

"Martha, go there and grab that twirly knob sticking out there! Don't let go until I say so."

"Right!"

Martha and the Doctor ran around with smiles bright and wide as they went to work again and the ship shook and rumbled as it traveled to where ever it was he was taking them. She laughed as she struggled to keep her balance and gripped on tightly to whatever was near as her body jerked back and forth along with the quakes and movements of the ship. A bit of sparks flew out as some of the lighting wavered from bright to dim and the familiar hum of the Tardis deafened in her ears, like the strong steady beat of an unborn baby's heart within the womb of it's mother, and like the strained breaths of the elderly as they decayed in the dust. Those same moments in time melded together into a familiar, yet unknown sound that sang into her like it had always been a part of her.

The song of the Tardis sounded all around her as they ripped through time and space to where ever the Doctor so chose, until it came to a slow stop as it landed, sounding like a single beat on a drum at the end of an orchestrated symphony. Until it came to land so surely and solidly as if it hadn't ever left that spot of land outside. Where ever, 'outside' was.

The Doctor ran outside and she and Martha followed.

She shielded her eyes as soon as her foot stepped onto the pure terrain beneath them. It made a soft crunch under her weight but felt secure and soft just as well. She was speechless as she gazed upon the soft setting sun as it rested between snow covered mountains in the distance. It's light hit everything they could see and bounced around the land. It reflected off the clear as crystal waters of an enormous lake nearby and a smile found it's way to her lips as she gasped in the beauty. Everything was white and pure and smelled of sweet rose petals and honey. A tuft of flake landed on her lashes and she slowly raised her hand to the air. More white tufts of silk fell onto her palm and she brought her hand to her more closely to inspect the falling specks of wonder.

"Snow?" she breathed in awe, "The whole place is covered in snow."

"But the lake isn't frozen over." Martha contradicted in a delighted haze as well, "And it's not cold."

"Not snow." The Doctor all but anxious to show off his incredible knowledge bounced a bit on his heels.

She slowly removed that which fell upon her dark lashes before and upon its untangling found that it did not melt at the warmth of her finger tips.

"Feathers?"

He did not answer, only smiling harder than before as his excitement seemed to build up inside himself.

"It's all, feathers? Pure, white, down?"

Martha had kneeled down to push aside the fallen fluff. She gasped at her discovery.

"Look, the ground's still all white. The grass is white, and so is the dirt!"

Nurse had fell to her knees to push away the covering of the earth to feel for her self the silken touch of the pearly grass blades beneath.

"The planet Seraph. That's where we are. A planet devoted to luxurious pleasantries of tranquility and scented splendor. Everything is the pigment of white on the entire planet except for its sun, a brilliant golden yellow, and that which holds no color such as the lake, or whatever they make from the gold that is mined from the planet's crust and caverns."

"Amazing."she breathed as the Doctor smiled brightly.

"Excuse me, are you tourists?"

The three travelers quickly snapped their attentions behind them to find the owner of the silky, fluid voice that addressed them. There only meters away stood a tall figure robed in white, flowing gowns. His crystal blue eyes were sharp and gentle against his albino skin. His long neck shook against the chill of a passing breeze as he waited for their replies.

Martha and Nurse stood gaping at his beauty and alien form as the Doctor began to step forth to move past their improper reactions.

"Ah, yes, tourists, that's what we are! Visitors searching for some relaxation and a fine meal from the famous kitchens of Seraph. We seem to have, gotten lost along the trail. Couldn't spot, the resort, from my ship..." he trailed of as he searched around for a building sticking out from the land. He suddenly turned his vision back to the local, "Sorry, I didn't quite call ahead to make reservations. I hope we can still be shown a room?"

"Oh yes, of course." he bowed with a soft smile to them, "That shouldn't be a problem at all."

When he looked up again his smile had somewhat faded a bit but he quickly recovered with another boost of welcome.

"Seraph is always prepared for visitors. We enjoy sharing the beauty of the planet with the rest of the universe's inhabitants, as well as offering its natural harmony and tranquility to each guest through our own acceptance and helping guide."

He paused to greet everyone with a moment of eye contact in respect.

"Would you like me to escort you to the lobby where you can sign in as guests?"

"Yes, that would be great!" The Doctor began to march forward and their guide turned to lead. The girls followed in tow.

"So you have visited Seraph before?" he asked.

"Well, I have. Well, not yet for you, but I will have been here before later. Oh, but these two are completely fresh!"

"I see." he chuckled softly at the strange rambling of his guest. "Well Seraph welcomes you."

He turned to bow to the girls which Martha returned with a smile and a nod. Nurse gave a quick bow in her steps which he smiled at kindly.

"Where do you hail from?"

"Oh, I'm from, no where really, and these two are native from Earth."

"Earth?" his eyes seemed to light up, impressed at the notion. "How bold."

"Is it?" asked the Doctor.

"Well yes, we have yet to introduce our land to those from apes called 'human'. I didn't know their primitive technologies had gotten them off that polluted rock so soon."

His tone hadn't sounded like he meant to be offensive, but Martha couldn't help but make a face. The Doctor however seemed to be a bit worried by his remark, but he hid this well.

"By the way, my name is Sol. You can ask me any questions you may have. I will try my best to answer them and if I cannot I will direct you to the best staff member who can."

"Thank you Sol, I do have a question actually, what is today? I sort of dazed in and out this week. Forgot to check the calendar, now I'm completely lost."

"As always." Martha murmured under her breath to Nurse. She grinned and shared a glance with her as they trudged through the thick down that Sol seemed to glide through with ease.

"Ah, yes of course. Here it is Ock 7th, Earth year 2058."

"2058?" Martha repeated.

"That's so close." Nurse noted, a bit of astonishment in her soft words.

"Oh, that's why there aren't humans here yet. I guess I'm a bit early. But we should have a fantastic time none the less!"

"Yes of course, nothing from this year's events will hinder your experience at the Rapor resort. The Swan pride themselves on making all visitor's stays to the maximum enjoyment of their pleasure. No matter how many, or how little, arrive at our doors."

"The Swan?" questioned Nurse.

"My kind. There are others, but we are the dominant race of Seraph."

"Sorry, what did you mean by 'this year's events'?"

At that question Sol paused in his stride, his bright shining blue eyes widened ever so slightly in a hesitant surprise as he studied the thin man in the blue fitted clothing before him, as if he was almost not sure if he was only joking.

"My sir, I mean the war, of course."

"The war?" Martha asked.

"Yes. The war of my people. The Swan of the Northern hills of Shim and the Southern valleys of Leel. The land beneath you is of Leel."

"You don't mean to tell me we're here during the war of Blood and Wings?"

Sol seemed to flinch at that title, "Yes, it has come to be called that recently."

"Between the genius generals Swan Keb and Swan Ta?"

"I don't know about General Kebera, but only those with close relation may call Swan Tatem by that name." Sol warned with a bit of edge that none of them expected he could have held within that silvery, liquid voice.

"Yes of course, apologies. I was being rude again."

Sol seemed to have regained his nature as his face faltered at the quick atonement.

"Quite alright. But I ask that you remember that when you are in the presence of other Swan." he began to lead once more the way in which he was headed. "My people are eager to be at peace with all creatures of the galaxy, and though not many of us will show a discomfort to such informalities, it will drive a deep misunderstanding between most adult civilian Swan."

The Doctor slowed his pace at Sol's words and came to hang back and bring up the rear of their group, a thoughtful gaze across his face.

"So, you said we're in Leel, and Leel's at war with Shim right? Well where's all the battling? As far as I can see is beauty and calm and peace. How long have you been at war?"

Sol smiled at the woman of Earth. Her eyes were a strange, dark color he had never seen before, and her skin was pale, but not the same pale as his own race. His color was an absence of it all, while hers seemed warm against the blank and spotless scenery around them.

"Leel is not of only this strip that you can see. It runs deep and spreads wide. The fore front of the battle is many of your Earth miles away where the borders of the two lands come to meet. The time of this ravage courses over the span of two of your Earth years, but it is only now come the end of our one, and the fighting seems not near over."

"What are you fighting over anyway?"

The darker one had spoken up, curiosity lacing her tone more than anything. He was sure it did sound interesting to them. What would cause a race to fight against their own for so very long? It must be something spectacular, is what he assumed they were thinking.

"General Kebera has revolted against our ways. He does not believe in the act of peace and open arms towards the foreign races that frequent our planet for it's beauty and fineries. He believes that our empress is naive and soft and is allowing the footprints of foreign skins to trample upon our resources. He strives to over throw her and become emperor to rule over Seraph with a more dignified and militant objective. His first act will be to strengthen our defenses and act on those he presumes to be invading enemies. Who knows what he'll plan to do after that. Perhaps he'll want to be the one to do the invading?"

"That's awful." the dark one spoke solemnly.

"Yes, but still he has gained a strong gathering of followers who agree with his ideals. And so they journey across the land, leaving the scars of battle fields as they march ever closer."

"Are we safe here then?" she asked, sounding a bit worried now.

"Yes, we are fine. As I said, the battle front is many months of travel away. Even if he does prove to over come the empress's army, we do not expect General Kebera to reach the resort's limits at least for another 14 of our months. That comes roughly to about the equivalent of two more of your Earth years. You will be perfectly safe and cared for within the protection of our establishment for the duration of your stay."

"Good to hear I guess. Though I kind of can't believe a hotel would even stay open while there's a war going on just over the mountains."

The pale one was speaking again, naked flesh of her face flushed a light crimson color from the exertion of their trek. He couldn't help but smile at her reasoning.

"Yes, though it has been announced many times that the grounds of Rapor are plenty safe, the war has diminished most of our business." he chuckled lightly now, that fluid sound of his laugh shook delicately within the stretch of his throat. "That is actually why I was so surprised to find you out in the meadow. It was not so much strange that you were there, but more that you would _choose_ to come here." he laughed only a bit at the thought. He'd truly given up on accepting visitors while the war lapsed.

"That's us, the strange ones." The Doctor piped up as he joined alongside Sol, pulling forth a silly grin from Martha. The pale Earth woman only gave a weak smile to the remark. She probably was not as involved in the humor as the dark woman. Sol wondered for a moment of why that would be, but quickly diminished those strange thoughts of question.

When his eyes looked forward once more, he could see the tops of pearl marble poking out towards the yellow sky.

"There, the resort is within sight. We should reach it's steps soon." he pointed out and they followed his gaze.

Then they saw it as well. The walls of cream marble and columns of pearl. Twisting upwards were designs and engravings with gold and zircon. The glass of the windows were thin cuts of beryl, huge and intricate depictions pressed within them with pieces of cut crystal quartz. The steps leading up to heavy moonstone doors were of opal and white gold..

It shined a bright amber as it caught the light of the setting sun, towering above them, a color of awe among the pure and bare scape of snow-like-feathers as they fell around in slowly twisting drops in the still air of the crisp land.

They stood back a moment, letting the grandness of it all seep into their memories, so that they could remember its beauty for all their lives. Nurse could feel tears prick at the edge of her deep, honey, russet eyes. It was like something out of a dream. It was magical, it was ethereal. It stood mightily atop a mound of fallen angel wings. Pure driven silk lighter than air under a golden sky.

Sol smiled at the view before them as well. He'd forgotten how striking his home truly was.

"Children of Earth, welcome to Rapor."


End file.
